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“Muslims are afraid of losing their identity, and Dutch society is afraid of them,” Cohen said. |
AMSTERDAM — With right-wing politicians fueling anti-Muslim sentiments in the northwestern European country, the Netherlands is grappling with Muslim integration into society.
“Muslims are afraid of losing their identity, and Dutch society is afraid of them," Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, October 31.
Dutch Muslims have been in the eye of storm since the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Moroccan immigrant in 2004 for his anti-Islam movie.
Though the crime was vehemently condemned by the Muslim community, attacks have been on the rise against Muslim targets across the country.
“It was as if, before Van Gogh, they had never seen a Muslim in the Netherlands,” Ahmed Marcouch, a Dutch citizen of Moroccan-origin, said.
“From one day to the next, they realized that Muslims existed and that shad to be done -- there was much panic.”
In a bid to prevent a spiral of retaliation, the western city of Amsterdam adopted an emergency plan to promote social cohesion and fight extremism.
Under the seven-million-euro plan, projects of immigrant associations were subsidized.
Dialogue was also launched with mosque representatives to help fight extremism.
Even a television reality show, featuring the daily lives of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan families, was also financed and broadcast on a local station.
Far-rightists
Analysts blame far-right politicians for fueling anti-Muslim sentiments in Dutch society.
“The debate on Islam has hardened (since 2004),” political scientist Jean Tillie said.
“The problem in Dutch society is that there are groups of people who don't trust each other.”
Far-right politician Geert Wilder has been championing campaigns against Muslims and their faith in the country.
He has called for banning the Noble Qur’an, describing the Muslim holy book as “fascist”.
In 2008, Wilder released a 15-minute documentary accused the Qur'an of inciting violence.
Despite the far-right campaigns, no serious incidents, like Van Gogh’s murder, occurred in the country.
"The fact that nothing (like the murder of Van Gogh) has happened again suggests that we have been successful so far," said Tillie.
"But it is important to keep the issue high on the agenda."
As example of Muslim success in the Netherlands, a Dutch Muslim of immigrant origin, Ahmed Aboutaleb, was sworn in January as the mayor of Rotterdam, the second-largest city of the Netherlands.
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